Sonata Arctica has recently joined the unending legion of
power metal bands looking for a fresh start. Like many others, they started
their career with blistering high-speed power metal that was painfully catchy,
and gradually dumbed down their sound over the years. For some bands, this
worked great. In Sonata Arctica’s case, I really can’t comment fairly as I’ve
only heard the first three records. What I have noticed is that “Pariah’s
Child” - like seemingly every other new power metal release - is heralded by
the band as a return to their roots. From the second the album kicks off, it is
immediately clear that this isn’t a successor to “Ecliptica”. That doesn’t mean
it’s a bad album though. In fact, there’s really no problem with the music
presented on “Pariah’s Child”. There are, however, a mess of issues that do a lot of damage to an otherwise acceptable album.
Somewhere over the years it appears that Sonata Arctica has
taken some serious influence from Freedom Call and Power Quest because these
Finnish metallers have switched from soaring powerful melodies into vocal lines
that are so upbeat that they are almost cringe inducing. There’s nothing wrong
with that of course, and “The Wolves Die Young” shows how effective this can be
as this song is the pinnacle of catchiness on the record. Other times, however,
it works against the band, such as on “Cloud Factory”. This track starts out
well, but it reveals the biggest problem with “Pariah’s Child”: a myriad of
strange choices that ruin otherwise enjoyable songs. On “Cloud Factory” there
is a sing-along section with clapping going on that takes the rest of the song
down with it. Even the quintessential “whoa-oh” part of the song is poorly done
compared to bands like HammerFall who excel at this sound. The very next track,
“Blood”, is even more enjoyable than “Cloud Factory”, but it is also
hurt by having an unnecessary voiceover. The biggest slap in the face comes in
the form of “X Marks The Spot”. This song is by no means the best, but it’s a
fun number. Unfortunately, the entire song has a “rock ‘n roll preacher”
spouting nonsense over top of the music and even Tony Kakko’s great vocals. I
don’t think I’ve ever heard something so obtrusive in a song. This is another
track destroyed by the band’s need to do something different.
Lost in the whirlwind of puzzling choices made by Sonata
Arctica is the fact that there are a lot of quality moments on this record. “What
Did You Do In The War, Dad?” is very much in the vein of “Fullmoon” and “Replica”;
a semi-ballad that is well written and a major highlight of the album. The
other ballad, “Love”, is nothing out of the ordinary in the world of power
metal ballads, and that means it is excellent. At this point, Kakko’s vocals
are what keep this band alive, and ballads showcase his talent best. Of course,
when the band does get up to old-school tempos, they also shine. The chorus of “Blood”
shows this well, as does “Half A Marathon Man”. All in all, there’s a lot of
good stuff on “Pariah’s Child”. This album's problems are entirely self-inflicted; the band has all of the talent in the world, but it’s hard to get past the frustrating moments on this album. Given the abundance of power metal out there this year, and the fact that
we will always have “Ecliptica” to enjoy, “Pariah’s Child” is an album that
might be worth skipping. Fans of the band's newer sound should enjoy it though.
Highlights
"The Wolves Die Young"
"Blood"
"What Did You Do In The War, Dad?"
"Half A Marathon Man"
Final Rating
3.4/5 or 68%.